For now, there’s a good chance Luiz Gustavo leaves Bayern Munich and remains in the Bundesliga, holding talks with Wolfsburg, but he has offers from all over Europe, with Arsenal quite interested in the Brazilian midfielder, and might eventually be the team that lands him.
According toĀ Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, theĀ chief executive officer of Bayern Munich, things are beginning to clear up on the Gustavo front.
If Wolfsburg agrees with him, we will hold more talks.Ā If Luiz Gustavo leaves the club we will not sell any more players and also donāt buy any.” Clubs from England, Spain and Russia are also believed to be on red alert.
It’s been quite a while since Arsenal had a defensive midfielder that, was, well, a very good one. Mikel Arteta is their best option at the moment, and while Arteta is quite an established Premier League player, but that’s not his natural position, and it shows when the competition gets tougher.
Gustavo isn’t the bruiser type many would like to see at the back of their midfield, and can’t hold it on his own, but in a talented midfield like the one Arsenal have, he should thrive. He plays well for Bayern Munich when he gets the chance, but the arrival of Javi Martinez last season and Thiago Alcantara being signed this year doesn’t really leave a lot of room for him at Bayern, or any minutes at all.
Gustavo is worried about the World Cup. At the moment, even after being in and out of the lineup at Bayern last season, he’s an automatic starter for Scolari and theĀ Selecao.Ā But once this season begins and Gustavo isn’t playing, it’ll change, and it seems like the most important player for every Brazilian in the World Cup picture right now is being healthy for next summer.
Arsenal have yet to make any signing that actually cost them money (Sanogo came for free). Gustavo is valued at aroundĀ Ā£16 million, but Arsenal might get a better price with Bayern looking to offload the player, their only sale of the summer according to the club. While a striker is also somewhat of pressing business the Gunners should attend to, bringing in Gustavo will certainly be a significant improvement to what they currently have.
For now, though, it’s nothing more than speculation, and as mentioned above, Gustavo is probably closer to staying in Germany and playing for Wolfsburg than anything else.